November 20, 2013
Los Angeles, CA – The Directors Guild of America today announced the winners of the 2013 DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women directors in the East Region. The awards are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to exceptional minority and women directors in film schools and select universities across the country.
“We congratulate all the winners of this year’s DGA Student Film Awards,” said DGA President Paris Barclay. “The intent of our DGA Student Film Awards is to shine a spotlight on promising new talent while continuing to encourage diversity in the entertainment industry. We’re honored to call attention to these exciting new voices and we congratulate them on a job well done.”
The 2013 winners, selected by blue ribbon DGA member panels, are:
BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER
East Region:
Award Winner: Curtis Adair of Florida State University for Little Africa
Jury Award: Jeremiah Cullen of University of North Carolina School of the Arts for Baldwin
BEST ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT FILMMAKER
East Region:
Award Winner: Joo Hyun Lee of Columbia University for Sweet Corn
Jury Award: Sana Attiq Haq of Wake Forest University for The Other Army
BEST LATINO STUDENT FILMMAKER
East Region:
Award Winner: David Figueroa Garcia of Columbia University for Gloom (Perfidia)
Jury Award: Andreas Guzman of University of North Carolina School of the Arts for Remy
BEST WOMAN STUDENT FILMMAKER
East Region:
Award Winner: Miriam Ditchfield of New York University for Black Horn Night Heron
Jury Award: Julie Zografos Koegl of University of North Carolina School of the Arts for What Remains
The awards rules and procedures mandate that competing films must have been made in the 2012/2013 school year (September 2012 through August 2013), and must have been produced as a student project under the supervision of a faculty member. Dramas, comedies and documentaries are all eligible – animated and experimental films are not. Applicants must be enrolled in, or be a recent (one-year) graduate from, an accredited post-secondary institution in California or DGA-selected university offering a degree in film or television. Eligible films are those in which a student held every major crew position. Productions in which a non-student, professional or a faculty member served as cinematographer, camera operator, sound recordist, editor, lighting designer or screenwriter may be disqualified.
The award-winning films will be screened and the awards will be presented in a ceremony at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York on Wednesday, December 4.
The winners for the West Region were announced on November 1, with the winning films screened and the awards presented in a ceremony at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 7.